Secretary-General

Noon briefing of 15 April 2009

.HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NOON BRIEFING

BY FARHAN HAQ

ASSOCIATE SPOKESPERSON FOR SECRETARY-GENERAL BAN KI-MOON

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

SECRETARY-GENERAL TO HEAD TO TRINIDAD FOR INTER-AMERICAN SUMMIT

  • The Secretary-General returned yesterday from Washington after attending the Haiti Donors’ Conference at the Inter-American Development Bank.

  • He will travel again this coming weekend, after delivering, on Friday, the keynote address for the 2009 Princeton Colloquium on Public and International Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School. This will be at 9:30 am at the Princeton University Campus in New Jersey.

  • The Secretary-General has already announced his trip to the Summit of the Americas in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. From there, he will go to Geneva and then on to Valletta, Malta, on 21 April. In Malta, he will meet with the President, and Prime Minister, before addressing the country’s parliament. The University of Malta will confer on the Secretary-General an Honoris causa doctorate in recognition of his contribution to raising awareness on climate change.

  • The Secretary-General’s last stop, as previously announced, will be Brussels for the Donors’ Conference on Somalia on 23 April.

  • The Secretary-General will return to New York the next day.

MYANMAR: SECRETARY-GENERAL SHARES U.S. SENATORS’ CONCERN ON CONTINUED DETENTION OF AUNG SAN SUU KYI

  • The Secretary-General has received a letter signed by a number of US Senators on the situation in Myanmar. The Secretary-General and his Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, share their concern about the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi. The Secretary-General and his Special Adviser have repeatedly called for her release and that of other political prisoners, and will continue to do so.

  • The Secretary-General continues to follow closely the situation in Myanmar, including through his Special Adviser, to promote national reconciliation, democratic transition, and respect for human rights in accordance with the mandate given to him by the General Assembly.

NORTH KOREA CEASING ALL COOPERATION WITH U.N. NUCLEAR WATCHDOG

  • The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) yesterday informed the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the Yongbyon facility that it is immediately ceasing all cooperation with the IAEA. It has requested the removal of all containment and surveillance equipment, following which IAEA inspectors will no longer be provided access to the facility. The inspectors have also been asked to leave the DPRK at the earliest possible time.

  • The DPRK also informed the IAEA that it has decided to reactivate all facilities and go ahead with the reprocessing of spent fuel.

SOMALIA: U.N. ENVOY CALLS FOR INCREASED MARITIME PRESENCE TO FIGHT PIRACY

  • The Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, is calling to increase concrete efforts -- such as the international maritime presence off the Somali coast-- to fight piracy.

  • He said that those contributing to that international presence were doing an “excellent job” but that they had a huge area to cover. The Special Representative noted that today, 17 vessels are being held and 300 persons are hostages.

  • Ould-Abdallah also suggested that the financial backers of the pirates should be identified quickly and held accountable, in order to ensure stability in Somalia and the region.

FIJI: HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF CALLS FOR RETURN TO RULE OF LAW AND END OF MEDIA CENSORSHIP

  • High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has expressed her deep concern about the recent sacking of the judiciary and heavy restrictions on the media there. Those developments follow the abolishment of Fiji’s 1997 Constitution and the imposition of a state of emergency five days ago.

  • According to Pillay, the long term damage of undermining such fundamental institutions as the judiciary and the media cannot be underestimated. In that regard, she called for a return to the rule of law, the reinstatement of the judiciary and an end to media censorship.

  • Pillay stressed that a state of emergency should only be used to deal with dire threats to national security -- not to undermine the fundamental checks and balances of good government.

  • Asked whether the recent actions taken in Fiji would change UN policy on accepting Fijians as UN peacekeepers, the Spokesperson said that the United Nations would continue to evaluate any future peacekeeping contributions by Fiji on a case-by-case basis.

HUMAN RIGHTS CHIEF WELCOMES REVISED DRAFT OUTCOME OF DURBAN REVIEW CONFERENCE

  • High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay today welcomed the release of a revised draft outcome document for next week’s anti-racism Durban Review Conference. The new text has been presented to States currently participating in the Conference’s final Preparatory Committee meeting.

  • Addressing that meeting today, Pillay urged delegates to transcend their differences and find consensus. She also told them that the future and hope of countless victims of racism rest in their hands.

  • The new 17-page document is a revision of the “rolling text” that was published last month by the working group charged with negotiating the Conference’s outcome. The chair of that working group has expressed hope that the new version, based on extensive consultations with States, will meet the concerns of all delegations and can be adopted by consensus.

HIGH COMMISIONER FOR REFUGEES CALLS FOR TOUGH ACTION AGAINST SMUGGLERS, PROTECTION FOR ASYLUM SEEKERS

  • The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres is in Indonesia today where he took part in the Third Ministerial Conference of the Bali Process – which aims at finding practical measures to help combat people smuggling, trafficking in persons and related transnational crimes in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

  • Guterres said that smugglers and traffickers often prey on people who are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, adding that "tough action against criminal agents has to go hand in hand with the protection of those in need of it." The High Commissioner stressed the importance of a comprehensive approach to respond effectively to irregular movements affecting the region. He also noted that the Bali process offered the potential to forge mechanisms for regional cooperation.

OTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS

SECURITY SITUATION IN DARFUR REMAINS RELATIVELY CALM: The UN-African Union Hybrid Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) reports that the security situation in Darfur is relatively calm. UNAMID peacekeepers conducted 22 confidence building patrols, 17 escort patrols and seven night patrols covering 44 villages and camps for internally displaced people (IDPs). UNAMID police conducted a total of 92 patrols in and around the villages and IDP camps.

SECRETARY-GENERAL CONCERNED BY DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Asked about the adoption of Islamic law in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, the Spokesperson said that the Secretary-General had not issued a statement on that matter. He recalled, however, that the Secretary-General had in his recent press briefing expressed his concerns about discrimination and violence against women in the Swat Valley.

*** The guest at the noon briefing today was John Holmes, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, who briefed on the humanitarian situation in Sri Lanka.

Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General
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